Automated and semi-automated product dispensing systems for small objects, such as pharmaceuticals and the like, include one or more magazines or cartridges that temporarily store vertical stacks of products within the dispensing unit. Products are dispensed one at a time from the bottom of each stack, generally into a tote or into a “print and apply” labeling device and then dropped into a tote or other container that transports the product through the system. Along the way, other products from the same or other dispensing units may be added to the original product until the customer order has been filled. Each product as well as the entire order is tagged or labeled by a bar code, radio frequency identification device (RFID) or other method that is scanned or read at multiple points in the system to verify progress and accuracy. If the product is not rejected, it is ultimately routed to an order dispensing station, where it is exported from the dispensing system, either alone or in combination with other products that comprise a customer order.
Products to be dispensed are generally, though not always, supplied in containers. The products or containers are barcoded, RFID tagged or otherwise identified and are generally scanned by an operator as the product is loaded into the magazine. The products may also be scanned during temporary storage within the magazine. For the latter type of scanning it is desirable that all of the products are placed in the magazine in the same predetermined orientation to enable their bar codes, RFID tags, or other indicia to be scanned by a unit positioned outside the magazine. Such scanning is used to verify that the magazine has been loaded with the correct product, that the product has been dispensed, and to track the product as it passes through the system to ensure that it is packaged along with other products specified in a customer order, and to ensure that the product ultimately exits the system.
Current automatic and semi-automatic dispensing units are provided with a requisite number of identically sized and shaped product magazines or sleeves that form vertical columns when installed on or in the dispensing unit. These magazine sleeves generally have a rectangular longitudinal cross section to accommodate elongated product packages such as tubes, boxes and bottles. Each product sleeve may be preloaded with a quantity of a preselected product and is then installed in a selected dispensing unit. Alternatively, the sleeve may be installed in a selected dispensing unit and then loaded with a quantity of a preselected product. It is also foreseen that more than one type of product may be loaded into the sleeve in a predetermined order, either before or after installation in a dispensing unit. The external dimensions of the magazines are uniformly sized for interchangeable reception in the dispensing unit. In order to avoid the expense of multiple sets of magazines, the interior dimensions are sized for reception of the largest product or container likely to be handled by the dispensing unit. However, many dispensable products are actually substantially smaller than the maximum allowable size. In addition, some products present an irregular shape. Smaller and irregularly shaped products tend to form an irregular vertical stack within the magazine sleeve, in which some products stack in contact with one wall, other products stack in contact with the opposite wall, and some products may contact none of the walls. This arrangement can cause the products to “bunch” up within the magazine sleeve and create irregular spaces. Such irregular spacing between products can affect the speed at which the products drop from the bottom of the stack, leading to uneven discharge of the products. It can also cause jams that halt product discharge entirely and necessitate operator intervention to reorient the products within the sleeve. Where the dispensing system includes multiple dispensing units, more than one of which may contribute to the fulfillment of a single customer order, it may also be necessary to stop the operation of other dispensing units in the system until the jam in the affected unit can be cleared.
While product sleeves could be constructed to correspond with various sized articles, the wide variety of sizes and shapes of small objects that are currently dispensed by such automated and semi-automated units renders such a solution cost-prohibitive.
Accordingly, there is a need for a product magazine for automated and semi-automated article dispensing systems that can be adjusted to accommodate the size and shape of the articles being dispensed and subsequently readjusted to accommodate articles having a different size and/or shape, that can orient the product in a longitudinally oriented or vertical opening in the sleeve to enable scanning, that can be easily, quickly, and repeatedly adjusted and readjusted, and that minimizes bunching and jamming of products within the magazine and the concomitant need for operator intervention.